Health & Harmony
with Joanna Castle
Meditation
In order to assist you in discovering the simplicity of mediation I have put together a wonderful tape with two guided meditations, one of which you will find below. They are called "Relaxation" and "A Journey Through Your Chakras".
How many of you have experience in meditation?
This practice of meditation is intended to not only relax you, but to relieve stress, and calm your mind and body.
If you will allow yourself to start with only 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at the end of your work day you will experience more energy, clarity and focus. Soon you will be sitting 20-30 minutes or sometimes even longer.
Try meditating before you dress for work. After you are rested from sleep, you will find that a brief meditation gives you a jump-start to your day and a focus and calmness you would not normally experience.
Now we will begin with a simple relaxation technique.
Make yourself comfortable. Place both of your feet flat on the ground. Shoes are optional. Place both of your hands in your lap, palms upward. Close your eyes.
Take 3 deep breaths, exhaling slowly. Let the cares of the day slide away.
Visualize 3 powder blue hoola-hoops above your head. Start by bringing them down one at a time. The first will relax all of the hard tissue in your body and bones. The second one will relax all of the soft tissue in your body - your skin, muscles and tendons. The third will relax all of the liquids in your body - water and blood.
Now we are going to ground ourselves.... Visualize a rope, or a cord dropping down from the area of your tailbone all the way down through the floor, the pavement, into the earth. Now send it all the way to the center of the earth. Feel the moist warm earth around you, the warming as you come closer to the center of the earth. Now take that cord and firmly plant it in the center of the earth. Tug on it to make sure it's secure. Now follow that cord back up into the room.
To further relax you I would like you to begin to fill your right foot with a calming powder blue light. Move the blue up your calf, thigh, hip, chest and back area and down your arm. Fill your fingers, up your neck, the back of your head and face. Now take note of how that feels. Notice the difference from the right side to the left. Now begin to fill the left foot and move up your calf, thigh, hip, chest and back area, down your arm and out of your fingers, up your neck, the back of your head and face.
Feel a deep relaxing calmness. Say hello to your body. Tell your body that you love your body and that you need your body.
Now I would like you to enter the center of your head. This is the place you will always go to be alone, with no intruding people or thoughts. A place of total relaxation and peace.
Visualize a purple dot floating on top of your head. Now I would like you to bring that dot directly down into your head and imagine another dot entering through your right ear. Where these two dots meet, is the center of your head and there they will merge. You will know you are in the center of your head when the palms of your hands begin to tingle, to warm or to vibrate. The soles of your feet will do the same thing.
Now I would like you to look around in the center of your head for anything that does not belong there, like your boss, your mother, your significant other or the person who ran the red light. Now I want you to tell them to leave. This is your space. If they are reluctant to go, hand them a rose and insist they go. Now, are you completely alone?
Now I would like you to furnish this space exactly the way you would like it. Don't over do it, just make it comfortable. Just remember that it has windows completely around it for your own private viewing. Now go to work decorating it. Then find a very comfortable place to sit down and relax.
This is the space in the center of your head. It is where you will go to be completely alone. You will find a calming peace whenever you choose to go there.
Now we are going to come back, slowly. Begin to wiggle your toes and your fingers. Move your head and neck around and then, when you are ready, slowly open your eyes.
The purpose of meditation is not necessarily to have profound experiences, although over a period of time you may begin to have them.
As you meditate for longer periods of time, your meditations will automatically become deeper.
I have given you a tool to use. How often you use it and for how long, is entirely up to you. The benefit will be greater, obviously, the more you practice. I suggest that you start by meditating 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening. I suggest that you lengthen your evening meditations first, as this is the time of day you will feel the most benefit. Then lengthen your mornings.
I however prefer morning meditations. I probably start my work day much later than most of you, so I rarely feel tired or rushed when I awake. I personally find that a long morning meditation gets my day going. I am already relaxed and rested from an adequate nights sleep, so I focus on what I need - energy, clarity and focus. This is also when I do my manifesting.
This is a time to run energy, and manifest or visualize what you want to happen for you in that day, and in the future.
We are also going to discuss the benefits of the use of essential oils when meditating. Various oils work well with certain chakras. You may diffuse your room before meditating or apply certain oils to your body before meditating. You may want to work on only one or two areas, or all.
This method is called 'SUBTLE AROMATHERAPY'.
Both of these meditations are available on tape. For more information please contact me.